Shloka 16
तां स वेलामिवोदभूतां शरवृष्टिं समुत्थिताम् । व्यधमत् सायकैर्भीष्म: पाण्डवं समवारयत्,जैसे समुद्रमें ज्वार आ गया हो, उसी प्रकार वहाँ प्रकट हुई उस बाणवर्षाको भीष्मने अपने सायकोंसे छिन्न-भिन्न कर दिया और पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनको कुण्ठित कर दिया
tāṃ sa velām ivodbhūtāṃ śaravṛṣṭiṃ samutthitām | vyadhamat sāyakair bhīṣmaḥ pāṇḍavaṃ samavārayat ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: As though a tidal surge had risen in the ocean, that sudden storm of arrows burst forth. Bhīṣma shattered it with his own shafts and checked the Pāṇḍava (Arjuna), blunting his advance in the fight.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined mastery in battle: overwhelming force (an arrow-storm) can be met and neutralized through steadiness, skill, and timely restraint—suggesting that power is ethically meaningful when governed by control rather than mere aggression.
A fierce volley of arrows rises like an ocean’s tidal surge. Bhīṣma responds with his own arrows, breaking up the attack and effectively halting the Pāṇḍava warrior—understood here as Arjuna—by checking his momentum in the encounter.